One of these shared specifications is the [http://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/latest/ base directory specification] which defines a set of locations in the filesystem that can be used for portable desktop technology implementations.

One of these shared specifications is the [http://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/latest/ base directory specification] which defines a set of locations in the filesystem that can be used for portable desktop technology implementations.

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KDE supports the base directory specification and the various [[../Environment_Variables|environment variables]] it prescribes in addition to the [[../KDE_Filesystem_Hierarchy|KDE filesystem hierarchy]]. A summary of KDE's implementation follows below, while the full specification can be read [[http://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/latest/ here on freedesktop.org]].

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KDE supports the base directory specification and the various [[../Environment_Variables|environment variables]] it prescribes in addition to the [[../KDE_Filesystem_Hierarchy|KDE filesystem hierarchy]]. A summary of KDE's implementation follows below, while the full specification can be read [http://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/latest/ here] on [http://freedesktop.org freedesktop.org].

== Application Data ==

== Application Data ==

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Data that applications store which are specific to a given user are to be stored in the <tt>XDG_DATA_HOME</tt> directory. If the <tt>XDG_DATA_HOME</tt> environment variable isn't set, it defaults to {{path|$HOME/.local/share}} for local storage and {{path|/usr/local/share;/usr/share}} for system wide files.

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Data that applications store which are specific to a given user are to be stored in the <tt>XDG_DATA_HOME</tt> directory. If the <tt>XDG_DATA_HOME</tt> environment variable isn't set, it defaults to {{path|$HOME/.local/share}} for local storage and {{path|/usr/local/share;/usr/share}} for system-wide files.

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Some items that may be stored in <tt>XDG_DATA_HOME</tt> are files the user has put in the trash, mimetype definitions and associations and application .desktop files.

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Some items that may be stored in <tt>XDG_DATA_HOME</tt> are files the user has put in the trash, mimetype definitions and associations, and application .desktop files.

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The search path for system wide directories can be defined setting the <tt>XDG_DATA_DIRS</tt> environment variable to contain a list of paths.

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The search path for system-wide directories can be defined by setting the <tt>XDG_DATA_DIRS</tt> environment variable to contain a list of paths.

== Configuration ==

== Configuration ==

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Configuration information should be stored in the <tt>XDG_CONFIG_HOME</tt> directory. If the <tt>XDG_CONFIG_HOME</tt> environment variable isn't set, it defaults to {{path|$HOME/.config}} for local storage and {{path|/etc/xdg}} for system wide files.

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Configuration information should be stored in the <tt>XDG_CONFIG_HOME</tt> directory. If the <tt>XDG_CONFIG_HOME</tt> environment variable isn't set, it defaults to {{path|$HOME/.config}} for local storage and {{path|/etc/xdg}} for system-wide files.

Some items that may be stored in <tt>XDG_CONFIG_HOME</tt> are application configuration files and application menu structure.

Some items that may be stored in <tt>XDG_CONFIG_HOME</tt> are application configuration files and application menu structure.

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The search path for system wide directories can be defined setting the <tt>XDG_CONFIG_DIRS</tt> environment variable to contain a list of paths.

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The search path for system-wide directories can be defined setting the <tt>XDG_CONFIG_DIRS</tt> environment variable to contain a list of paths.

== Cache Files ==

== Cache Files ==

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Temporary data caches can be stored in the <tt>XDG_CACHE_HOME</tt> location, which defaults to {{path|$HOME/.cache}}. There is no system wide cache location as such caches are always user specific.

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Temporary data caches can be stored in the <tt>XDG_CACHE_HOME</tt> location, which defaults to {{path|$HOME/.cache}}. There is no system-wide cache location, as such caches are always user-specific.

== Thumbnails ==

== Thumbnails ==

Thumbnails representing the contents of files for use in icons and other representations of files are to be stored in {{path|$HOME/.thumbnails}}. The structure and content of the thumbnails directory is defined in the [http://jens.triq.net/thumbnail-spec/index.html thumbnail specification].

Thumbnails representing the contents of files for use in icons and other representations of files are to be stored in {{path|$HOME/.thumbnails}}. The structure and content of the thumbnails directory is defined in the [http://jens.triq.net/thumbnail-spec/index.html thumbnail specification].

Data that applications store which are specific to a given user are to be stored in the XDG_DATA_HOME directory. If the XDG_DATA_HOME environment variable isn't set, it defaults to $HOME/.local/share for local storage and /usr/local/share;/usr/share for system-wide files.

Some items that may be stored in XDG_DATA_HOME are files the user has put in the trash, mimetype definitions and associations, and application .desktop files.

The search path for system-wide directories can be defined by setting the XDG_DATA_DIRS environment variable to contain a list of paths.

Configuration information should be stored in the XDG_CONFIG_HOME directory. If the XDG_CONFIG_HOME environment variable isn't set, it defaults to $HOME/.config for local storage and /etc/xdg for system-wide files.

Some items that may be stored in XDG_CONFIG_HOME are application configuration files and application menu structure.

The search path for system-wide directories can be defined setting the XDG_CONFIG_DIRS environment variable to contain a list of paths.

Thumbnails representing the contents of files for use in icons and other representations of files are to be stored in $HOME/.thumbnails. The structure and content of the thumbnails directory is defined in the thumbnail specification.